PR4813 

.B7 
copy 2 






"^"^^ 



Bgc!" 



^, 




m Class __2'HAUL3 

Book Jir 



CopyriglitN"_J" 



sU^ 



*A 



coBmiam deposit. 





AROUND THE 
LIBRARY TABLE 



It ' 

AROUND THE 
LIBRARY TABLE 



AN EVENING WITH 
LEIGH HUNT . 




PRIVATELY PRINTED FOR THE 
FRIENDS OF LUTHER ALBERTUS 
AND ELINORE TAYLOR BREWER 
CEDAR RAPIDS IOWA CHRISTMAS 
NINETEEN HUNDRED TWENTY 



COjv^ 



Copyright 19S0 
By Luther A. Brewer V 






nf-c 1 i iM 'J 



^ClA604770 ^'" 



AROUND THE LIBRARY TABLE 

THIS is another stormy Sunday, one like 
unto that we told about in Beside our Fire- 
place. For twenty-four hours the snow has 
been falling and the wind has been drifting it 
in compact masses on the front porch and on the 
walks about the house. Though the hour is mid- 
afternoon only, already we have thrice wielded 
the shovel in a vain effort to clear the paths for 
the few pedestrians bold enough to use them. 
Unless we weary in our Christian-like conduct, 
our Trojan labors will be repeated at least twice 
more before bed-time. 

In the intervals between these periods of 
labor our thoughts involuntarily have gone out 
to our friends, to those friendly men and women 
whom the years have brought us and whom the 
lengthening days of our lives draw more inti- 
mately to us. 

And the question comes up for an answer: 
Shall we arrange, as in the years agone, for a 
renewal of those pleasant gatherings around 
the fireplace and beneath the reading lamp? 

None of us is without selfishness, yet it is a 



6 AROUND THE LIBRARY TABLE 

vice which no one will forgive in others. Mil- 
ton's Satan, you know, would rather reign in 
hell than serve in heaven. We prefer to serve. 

These are strenuous after-the-war days, and 
as Shakespeare long ago remarked, ''these 
should be hours for necessities, not for delights ; 
times to repair our nature with comforting re- 
pose, and not for us to waste." 

But we work no man or cause an injury by 
assembling before the cheerful fireplace. We 
are able to do better our new tasks in a per- 
turbed world because of the evenings we may 
spend in the library with books and letters and 
etchings as our helpful companions. 

Hence, friends, we invite you once more to 
share our joys, which will be doubled because of 
your kindly interest. 

We are a little bit uncertain, however, what 
shall be, or what ought to be, the subject of our 
conversation. One of the goodly company ac- 
customed to gather beside our reading lamp 
offers the suggestion that it would be pleasing 
to meet with the Mermaid Tavern cronies, or 
the brilliant company who founded the Literary 
Club, or with Charles Lamb and the good fel- 
lows who loved to gather in his small chambers 
to play whist, drink punch, and listen to such 



AROUND THE LIBRARY TABLE 7 

talk as never was before and never will be 
again. 

Does not this suggestion captivate one? But 
how can such things be in these days that are 
dry as dust with no hope of relief! Can one 
imagine a Mermaid Tavern, a club like the Lit- 
erary, or a meeting at Lamb's in these parched 
times? Under proper conditions, what a book 
might be written about any one of these historic 
organizations! Some day this must be done, 
for there were great doings at the Mermaid 
when Shakespeare, Ben Jonson, Beaumont and 
Fletcher (fine and beautiful friendship), and 
their cronies were present. Drollery, repartee, 
wise sayings, peals of laughter — all were heard 
there. And equally delightful would it be to sit 
in at a session of the Literary Club, Samuel 
Johnson in the chair, and to listen to the fine 
talk by him, and by Goldsmith, Burke, Rey- 
nolds, Garrick, and others. Then there are 
Charles Lamb's rooms in the Inner Temple, a 
quiet whist table in one comer. Hunt, Godwin, 
Hazlitt, Coleridge, Wordsworth occasionally, 
and other brilliant men present. What talk 
there, stimulated by the punch that has been 
passed around! 

No, these are subjects for other years. We 
will talk about lesser literary doings. 



8 AROUND THE LIBRARY TABLE 

'Tis said that it is hard to teach an old dog 
new tricks. Equally difficult, surely, is it to 
break a veteran collector of a long continued 
habit. Like the vase in which roses have once 
been distilled, you may shatter the collector's 
fortune or remind him of the necessities 
brought on by a calamitous war, yet the aroma 
of old books and the fragrance that breathes 
out of old letters will cling to his soul so closely 
that he cannot break away from the things that 
have brought, in the days that have gone, rest 
and peace to his mind. We have made efforts 
the past few years to cease collecting books. 
Catalogues have been received and read, the 
items for which our soul longed have been 
marked, and then the enticing pamphlets have 
been laid aside for a day or two until strength 
could be gained to pitch them into the waste 
basket. Self-denial has been our lot — except 
along one line. 

Before war w^as our part, we had begun to 
accumulate a set of the first editions of Leigh 
Hunt. We had also from time to time picked 
up autograph letters of Hunt with which to 
adorn these first editions. Splendid progress 
towards a complete collection had been made. 
Only a few of the rarest of his books were lack- 
ing on the shelves of our library consecrated to 



AROUND THE LIBRARY TABLE 9 

Hunt. It would have been quite unbusiness-like 
to have marred the value of what we had, by 
failure to acquire, as opportunity offered, the 
volumes we did not have. 
Ergo, our Hunt collection has been growing. 

Let us, then, spend an evening with Leigh 
Hunt, of whom Charles Dickens wrote: *'His 
was essentially human nature, rich and inclu- 
sive . . . sometimes over-clouded with the 
shadow of affliction, but more often bright and 
hopeful, and at all times sympathetic ; taking a 
keen delight in all beautiful things — in the ex- 
haustless world of books and art, in the rising 
genius of young authors, in the immortal lan- 
guage of music, in trees, and flowers, . . . 
in the sunlight which came, as he used to say, 
like a visitor out of heaven, glorifying humble 
places; in the genial intercourse of mind with 
mind ; in the most trifling incidents of daily life 
that spoke of truth and nature, ... in the 
domesticities of family life, and in the general 
progress of the world, . . . who, in the 
midst of the sorest temptations, maintained his 
honesty unblemished by a single stain — who, in 
all public and private transactions, was the very 
soul of truth and honor. ' ' 

All students of Hunt will not agree with this 



10 ABOUND THE LIBRARY TABLE 

estimate. His conduct towards Byron has been 
bitterly assailed, and, it seems to us, somewhat 
justly. It is alleged by some of his critics that 
his friendship for Shelley was based upon his 
ability to secure generous loans of money which 
he never repaid. 

But we may forget these imperfections of 
character, for he is such a genial fireside com- 
panion, he so charms us by his cheerfulness un- 
tainted by his many sorrows, and he is so ap- 
pealing to lovers of books because he was him- 
self one of their fondest lovers. Like our good- 
ly company, he, too, rejoiced in the open grate 
fire. One of his most charming essays bears the 
attractive title '*A Day by the Fire." 

So at this time we ask you to gather around 
the big table in our library where we may visit 
informally, and talk of the fellowship of books, 
and look at some Hunt rarities. We are hungry 
for your companionship, and while, possibly, 
your presence is not essential to complete our 
happiness, for we have friends on the shelves 
that are a solace to us at all times, yet we want 
you to know that we hold you in great esteem. 

And speaking of ' 'friends on the shelves," 
where can one find friends more steadfast and 
loyal ? These books of ours never dispute with 



AROUND THE LIBRARY TABLE 11 

lis when we are weary, never tire us with small- 
talk. There is complete harmony at all times. 
Among them are friends for every mood; we 
are never alone when in the library. Scipio's 
remark that "a man is never less alone than 
when he is alone — nunquam minus solus quam 
cum solus — shows him to have been a book- 
lover. Books, wrote that prince of book-lovers, 
Richard de Bury, * * are masters who instruct us 
without rod or ferrule; if you approach them 
they are not asleep ; if you enquire of them they 
do not withdraw themselves; they never chide 
you when you make mistakes ; they never laugh 
if you are ignorant. ' ' 

All sorts of delightful hobbies may be in- 
dulged in a library. We may go fishing even 
though the waters are covered with ice ; we may 
go camping though the snow covers the earth 
and the biting winds blow. In truth, it is per- 
mitted us to take all sorts of vacations and to 
work, if we so desire, at various pursuits. All 
things are possible to him who has surrounded 
himself with books that "are so many faithful 
and serviceable friends, gently teaching us 
everything through their persuasive and wise 
experience. ' ' 

Richard Le Gallienne finely expressed the 
thought of some of us Avhen he wrote : 



12 AROUND THE LIBRARY TABLE 

With Pipe and Book at close of day, 
Oh, ivhat is sweeter, mortal say? 
It matters not what hook on knee. 
Old Izaak or the Odyssey, 
It matters not meerschaum or clay. 

And though one's eyes will dream astray, 
And lips forget to sue or sway. 
It is '' enough to merely he," 
With Pipe and Book. 

What though our modern skies he gray. 
As hards aver, I will not pray 
For "soothing Death" to succour me. 
But ask this much, Fate, of thee, 
A little longer yet to stay 
With Pipe and Book. 

"We pass quickly the shelves containing the 
books printed the past quarter of a century. 
These possess no especial interest for us. A 
real book-lover rarely is found in the modern 
circulating library. Should he by chance be in 
one, he is bored until he makes his escape. 

But show him a shelf or a case filled with vol- 
umes in ancient calf or vellum. At once he is 
all attention. A light shines in his face. Rev- 
erently he approaches that treasury of books; 
tenderly and lovingly he takes out volume after 
volume and eagerly examines each title-page 
and colophon. Visions are his, glimpses of 



AROUND THE LIBRARY TABLE 13 

other days and other places. His soul is 
thrilled. He pictures the times in which these 
precious jewels were being produced. He feels 
himself kin to author and printer. He pictures 
the hopes and the fears of all those concerned 
in the making of these old volumes. Yea, ver- 
ily, in every old volume there is a spirit hidden. 

A recent writer has contrasted the pursuit of 
old books with that of old plate or old furniture, 
rendering judgment in favor of the book-col- 
lector. The collector of books knows his finds 
are genuine. The collector of old china and old 
furniture does not always have this certainty, 
for it is possible to make duplicates of these, 
but of the old books, no, not ever. 

The lover of old books has indeed a friendly 
feeling for that fine brother collector, Du Fres- 
noy, who spent the eighty-two years of his life 
among old books, only to have a new book end 
his life. Nodding over its dullness, he fell into 
the fire and was burned to death ! 

We love in tired moments the books that will 
refresh us. Longfellow wished to have read to 
him: 

Some simple and heartfelt lay, 

That shall soothe this restless feeling, 
And banish the thoughts of day. 

Not from the grand old masters, 



14 AROUND THE LIBRARY TABLE 

Not from the hards sublime, 
Whose distant footsteps echo 
Through the corridors of Time. 

For like strains of martial music, 
Their nightly thoughts suggest 

Life's endless toil and endeavor; 
And to-night I long for rest. 

Lelia : Have you a book on your shelves that 
you love above all the others ! 

L. A. B. : That is like asking a father which 
of his sons he loves the best. He has his favor- 
ite, but it isn't quite the thing to press him 
for an answer that later may cause him not only 
embarrassment but also humiliation. All the 
books you see here are my friends. Most of 
them have been tried and never found wanting. 
But there are no two bests of men or things. It 
is not possible that there should be. I of course 
have not only my favorites but a favorite of 
those favorites, a volume I love above all the 
others. 

Note this book I hold in my hand, with its 
saffron-colored silk binding, sides and back em- 
bellished in gold, all its edges gilded. It is en- 
titled Wit and Humour, Selected from the Eng- 
lish Poets; with an Illustrative Essay, and Crit- 
ical Comments, by Leigh Hunt. London : Smith, 
Elder and Company, 65, Comhill. Mdcccxlvi." 



AROUND THE LIBRARY TABLE 15 

That's the full reading of the title page. As a 
first edition, and in such immaculate condition 
as you behold it, the volume is worth about 
$5.00. It is not by any means an uncommon 
item. Most catalogues of old books list it. 

But there is only one copy, and there never 
can be more than one, just like this particular 
copy, for on the half-title it bears this inscrip- 
tion in the beautiful hand-writing of the author : 

To M^' Shelletj 
(I mean "Mary^') 
from her affectionate friend, L. H. 

When I came across this precious volume un- 
expectedly while glancing casually over a lot of 
books Walter M. Hill of Chicago had just re- 
ceived from London, I felt a thrill in my heart 
akin to that which agitated me when I discov- 
ered that I needed the life companionship of 
Mrs. B. Every fibre of my body was agitated. 
I was not certain of myself. I became almost 
tearfully mellow. The glow of a great find was 
mine. I wanted to give the book a kiss, such as 
Charles Lamb gave to a copy of Chapman's 
Homer when he first had the privilege of fond- 
ling that splendid volume. In a moment or two 
I felt impelled to shout and dance. Never again 
can I be so happy as at that moment. Such 



16 AROUND THE LIBRARY TABLE 

exaltation of spirits rarely, if ever, repeat. 
Then once more I became calm, inwardly and 
outwardly, for a great fear came. Walter Hill 
himself is a bibliophile as well as a bibliotaph. 
His own private library is rich in just such 
choice items. Like myself, he too has a fond- 
ness for Hunt. And here was an item having 
both a Hunt and a Shelley interest. Suppose he 
should say, ''Luther, that book I bought for my 
own collection." 

Then I recalled, also, that Walter was aiding 
other Hunt lovers to build up their collections. 
Suppose this particular item was imported by 
him ''on order." A big sinking of the heart 
followed as these dire forebodings became 
acute. I began to think that I might have been 
happier had not chance led me to pick up the 
book. Ignorance here might indeed have been 
bliss. Perhaps I was a fool to dare to tread 
where only angels should walk. 

In much meekness of spirit I managed to say, 
"Walter, did you not know in advance that I 
would call on you today?" (I had sent him a 
letter to that effect.) "Yes," he replied, "why 
do you ask r ' " Then why did you place such a 
temptation in my way." 

With a grieved countenance I handed him 
this Hunt book. "By golly. Brewer," — this is 



AROUND THE LIBRARY TABLE 17 

Walter's favorite and strongest cuss word so 
far as I know — ''I might have known you 
would jDounce upon that item as soon as you 
landed in this room. I should have hidden that 
volume from your greedy eyes. I intend that 
for my own collection." 

Slowly but sadly I answered, *'A11 right, but 
you are cruel. I do not blame you, however. 
My felicitations are yours. ' ' There were tears 
in my eyes and lost hopes in my heart. The 
hour was a sad and weary one, as so many hours 
are in one 's life. There were only ashes where 
there might have been glowing embers. 

Noting my rueful countenance, Walter relent- 
ed, saying, ''Oh, pshaw, Luther, you have a 
better right to that item than any other of my 
friends, for your collection of Leigh Hunt is 
such a comprehensive one and has so many im- 
portant presentation copies that this volume 
under discussion will find more worthy com- 
panions in your library than in the library of 
any other collector I know. Take it with you. ' ' 

That, my friends, is the brief story of my 
acquisition of this treasure. You will note that 
I have attached a slip to the volume. It bears 
the request to Mrs. B. that if the Grim Reaper 
gathers me before he visits Walter Hill, the 
book is to be returned to him with my compli- 



18 AROUND THE LIBRARY TABLE 

ments, and that no remuneration of any kind 
whatsoever shall be asked or received of this 
prince of a book-man. I want it under the cir- 
cumstances to be in the possession of a man who 
will lavish on it the same affection I am giv- 
ing it. 

Rachel: You must have given Mr. Hill a 
pretty penny for it. 

L. A. B. : That is a suggestion that is a near 
cousin to the one about kissing but never telling. 
By the way, Mrs. B. is the best sport in the 
world along this line. She never propounds to 
me such a foolish question, and I love her the 
better for it. There is not at any time any fam- 
ily jarring over my book expenditures. The 
matter is never alluded to or discussed. She 
seems to sense the fact that my life is made the 
richer by my love of these ** inconsequential 
trifles," and apparently derives some joy from 
knowing that I am happy in my love for these 
bookish things. 

Amy : Why do you set so much store on this 
particular presentation copy? You have other 
similar items in your Hunt collection. Why do 
you prize this volume more than you prize any 
of the others? 

L.A.B.: Because of that second line in 
Hunt's inscription, ''I mean 'Mary'." To get 



AROUND THE LIBRARY TABLE 19 

the full meaning of this you must recall the 
friendly feeling that existed between the Hunts 
and the Shelleys. They were ever asking each 
other for favors and always giving them. After 
the Shelleys made their home in Italy it was not 
unusual for Mary, that is Mrs. Shelley, to ask 
Hunt in London to perform some friendly ser- 
vice for her. Their correspondence was of the 
most intimate and friendly character. Writing 
to Hunt from Calais, March 13, 1818, Mary 
signs herself ''your affectionate friend." A 
few days later, from Lyons, she writes "I con- 
fess that the thought of how long we may be 
divided makes me very melancholy." Hunt 
looked after the details of the burial of Shelley, 
wrote the inscription for his tombstone, de- 
lighted in speaking of him as "friend of 
friends. ' ' 

Shelley published in Italy, in 1819, The Cenci, 
dedicated to Hunt. Indicative of his regard for 
Hunt let me read from the first edition of that 
book, here on the table, these fervid words in 
the dedicatory epistle : 

Had I known a person more highly endowed 
than yourself with all that it becomes a man to 
possess, I had solicited for this work the orna- 
ment of his name. One more gentle, honour- 
able, innocent and brave; one of more exalted 



20 AROUND THE LIBRARY TABLE 

toleration for all who do a/tid think evil, and yet 
himself more free from evil; one who knoivs 
better how to receive, and how to confer a ben- 
efit though he must ever confer far more than 
he can receive; one of simpler, and, in the high- 
est sense of the word, of purer life and manners 
I never knew; and I had already been fortunate 
in friendships ivhen your name was added to 
the list. 

Could any one pay another a finer tribute ? 

Hunt, like all whose lives are worth while, 
was fond of doing things for his friends. He 
makes frequent mention of his regret that he 
is not able at the time to give inscribed copies 
of his books to his correspondents. In sending 
a friend a volume of Montaigne he makes men- 
tion of the fact that he had marked it ' * so that I 
shall be in a manner in your company if you 
read any of it." There are several volumes in 
this collection bearing annotations by Hunt, so 
we, too, may tonight if we choose be in his com- 
pany. 

Bess : Have you any presentation or marked 
copies other than the one given Mrs. Shelley ? 

L. A. B.: Look through these volumes here. 
I consider this collection somewhat rich in them. 
For example, in this handsome morocco case is 
an unpretentious looking little book, in the orig- 
inal brown boards, that stands second only in 



AROUND THE LIBRARY TABLE 21 

my affections to the Shelley presentation copy. 
It is a first edition of Hunt's The Descent of 
Liberty, a Mash, dated 1815. On the half-title 
you find the words in the author's handwriting, 
'*To Lord Byron, with the author's best remem- 
brances. " I 'm ready to confess that at one time 
I looked upon this volume as the crown of the 
collection. But the Shelley copy has pushed 
this one from its former commanding position. 

Laura : What about the sentiment expressed 
in this inscription ? Was Hunt honest when he 
wrote *^with the author's best remembrances?" 

L. A. B. : Decidedly so. He dedicated The 
Story of Rimini, one of his best poems, to By- 
ron in 1816, addressing him ''under that still 
nobler" title of friend, and signing himself 
"affectionately yours." Again, in 1818, in his 
Foliage, he speaks of ''mj^ noble friend, Lord 
Byron, who waits as little for his own genius to 
be admired, before he admires that of others. ' ' 
In this same volume, which has a sub-title 
Poems Original and Translated, Hunt has a 
poem to Lord Byron of nearly nine pages, 
written upon Byron's departure for Italy and 
Greece, in which he wishes him "fair winds and 
skies, and a swift ship." Playfully he warns 
him while in Italy to "take care ... of 
lovely girls, that step across the sight, like 



22 AROUND THE LIBRARY TABLE 

Houris in a heaven of warmth and light, with 
rosy-cushioned mouths, in dimples set, and ripe 
dark tresses, and glib eyes of jet." 

And, by the way, it might have been just as 
well had Byron heeded this pleasantry, not only 
in Italy but elsewhere. But that is not apropos 
here. 

Among the closing lines of the tribute are 
these : 

And so adieu, dear Byron — dear to me 
For many a cause, disinterestedly : — 
First, for unconscious sympathy, ivhen hoys, 
In friendship, and the muse's trying joys: — 
Next for that frank surprise, when Moore and 

you 
Came to my cage, like warblers hind and true, 
And told me, ivith your arts of cordial lying, 
How well I looked, when you both thought me 

dying. 

The reference here is to visits made by Byron 
and Tom Moore to Hunt while he was in prison 
because of having published a libel, so-called, on 
one of the royal family. 

Bertha: But is not this one of the literary 
friendships that did not endure to the end? 

L.A. B.: Every lover of Hunt is ready to 
admit that later on he treated Byron rather 
shabbily. This is a long story, and it is not 



AROUND THE LIBRARY TABLE 23 

profitable to go into the details this evening. 
Perhaps, should the relations between Byron 
and Hunt be a matter of interest to the friends 
sitting around this table, we may at a future 
date discuss them. 

A. T. : I wish this might be arranged. 

Mert : If there 's any scandal afoot I 'm sure 
all of us, especially the ladies, will be delight- 
ed to learn of it. 

Dan : So say we all of us. 

I. B. S. : Can't we have a little of it tonight? 
Variety is spice, you know. 

Tom : Tell us the story in brief. 

Esther: Yes, do, to satisfy Tom's curiosity. 

Walter: Let's have it. 

L.A. B. : We'll omit the scandal, and say 
briefly that in 1821 the Hunts were living in 
London. Mrs. Hunt was ill and her physician 
advised that a sunnier clime than that of Eng- 
land would be of benefit to her. Shelley, in a 
letter dated August 26, 1821, from Pisa, wrote 
Hunt that Byron proposed that he ** should 
come out and go shares with him and me, in a 
periodical work, to be conducted here ; in which 
each of the contracting parties should publish 
all their original compositions and share the 
profit. ' ' 

Byron previously had proposed something of 



24 AROUND THE LIBRARY TABLE 

this nature to Moore Avho declined to be inter- 
ested. Shelley further stated that he could not 
be induced to share the profits, which, he said, 
ought to "be very great." Hunt decided to go 
to Italy, but in referring to Shelley's promise 
of money for the expense of the trip stated "I 
cannot do without your kindness in this re- 
spect. ' ' The money was furnished by Byron on 
Shelley's security, and the Hunt family, con- 
sisting of Hunt, his wife, and six children, 
arrived in Italy in the midsummer of 1822. 
Shelley located the Hunts in Byron's home in 
Pisa and then went to Lerici to bring Mrs. Shel- 
ley over for a visit. The drowning of Shelley 
occurred on July 8, and Hunt lost the best 
friend he ever had. Nevertheless the periodical, 
The Liberal, was launched, ceasing publication 
after four numbers, and without making the 
profits anticipated by Shelley. AVhile living in 
Byron's house there was friction between Mrs. 
Hunt and Byron, and the Hunt children doubt- 
less were a nuisance to Byron. Moreover, the 
Hunts did not approve of Byron's conduct in 
living with Countess Guiccioli. Then Byron be- 
came a little chary in extending further finan- 
cial aid to the improvident Hunt. Moreover 
Hunt himself was ill, things were not going well 



AROUND THE LIBRARY TABLE 25 

with him, and he had a sick wife and a large 
family depending upon him for maintenance. 
Smarting under the recollection of all these 
things, and, so some say, to secure money from 
the sale of the publication, in 1828 he published 
Lord Byron and Some of his Contemporaries, 
four years after Byron had lost his life in 
Greece while working for Grecian independence. 
In the Preface to the work Hunt states; *'It 
was the death of my friend Shelley, and my own 
want of resources, that made me add this bitter 
discovery to the sum of my experiences. The 
first time Lord Byron found I was in want, was 
the first time he treated me with disrespect." 

Henry: But Hunt repented later of his in- 
judicious words, did he not? 

L. A. B. : Yes, in a letter to Tom Moore, June 
8, 1841, he expresses '* regret at my former re- 
marks on him, not because they were not true, 
for they were, critical errors excepted, but be- 
cause a better knowledge of myself has taught 
me that no one frail human being has a right to 
sit in that manner in judgment on another. ' ' 

Lovers of Hunt have always regretted this 
slip in his life. But he was human and sensi- 
tive, and possibly under similar circumstances 
our action might not have been different. 



26 AROUND THE LIBRARY TABLE 

E. P. B. : Let us hear about Keats 's Lamia, 
found on the body of Shelley after he was 
drowned. 

L. A. B. : Keats 's last volume, * ' Lamia, ' ' etc., 
was loaned Shelley by Hunt, who told him to keep 
it until he could return it with his own hands. 
When they were preparing Shelley's body to be 
burned this precious volume was found on his 
person, some of the pages turned back. Evi- 
dently the poet had been reading this last work 
of Keats and had hastily thrust it into his 
pocket. Hunt ordered it to be consumed by the 
fire that cremated the body of Shelley. He re- 
fused to receive it from any other hand than 
that of Shelley. It is indeed difficult for a book- 
lover to forgive Hunt for this act. Today the 
volume would be priceless. 

Helen: I note here several letters written by 
Hunt. Tell us about some of them. 

L.A. B. : That I will gladly. Here are two 
that are of especial interest. In fact they rank 
in human interest with the veiy first of the 
letters of any literary personage. With due 
modesty let me say that these are letters the 
possession of which at this time would bring 
joy to the heart of any lover of books. Again 
I am under obligations to Walter Hill for the 



AROUND THE LIBRARY TABLE 27 

opportunity of possession. They are letters for 
a book-lover to gloat over. 

Their story? Perhaps they themselves tell 
it. Let us see : 

Genoa, 2'^ January 1823 
Dear Severn, 

I had a letter from M*" Broivn the other day, 
in which he told me that you were then prepar- 
ing to perform the last melancholy offices for 
our friend. Good God! that I shoidd be aivay 
at such a time. But I am tied & fast hound 
by a thousand defying reasons. The remains 
shoidd never have gone without me, — as you 
may ivell suppose, — if I coidd have helped it. 
Between you & me they should never have gone 
at all, unless they could have been so accom- 
panied: but it was ivished otherwise, and — 
Will you be kind enough, the first leisure you 
have to write to me? You need not take up your 
time with a long letter. I have set you the ex- 
ample of a short one. Pray tell us where the 
remains have been placed, — ivhether, according 
to M*"* Shelley's request, near their infant. 
ilf* Shelley begs as a favor, that you ivould take 
the trouble to order a plain marble to be put 
over them, with a name d date, merely to mark 
the spot, till another can take its place. You 
ivill of course let us knoiv directly ivhat the ex- 
pense is. I have sent you an inscription for the 
present over-leaf, in case you might feel at all 
perplexed. 



28 AROUND THE LIBRARY TABLE 

I Jiope my last letter directed to No. 43 was 
not kept from you long. 

Yours sincerely, 

Leigh Hunt. 

*' Over-leaf" are the words thus arranged: 
Percy Byshe Shelley 

Cor Cordum 
Nat. Aug. 4. 1792 Oh. Jul. 8. 1822. 

The address on the letter is 
Al Signore 

II Signor Guiseppe Severn, 
Gentilhome Inglese, 

No. 18, via S. Isidore, 
Roma 

Here is a letter written a month later that fits 
in nicely with the one we have just read : 

Genoa, Feb. 3, 1823. 
My Dear Severn, 

Many, many thanks for your kindness, which 
I am sure must have been as painful to yourself, 
as it was attentive to those whom you have grat- 
ified. M*"* Shelley begs me to say how grateful 
she is, on her part. — / am at present resting 
from over-ivork ivith a head that can hardly 
hold itself up, but in the course of a few days I 
intend to send a letter of thanks to each of the 
gentlemen who were kind enough to attend, at 
which time also I shall send off another to your- 



AROUND THE LIBRARY TABLE 29 

self, longer than this. How delighted I shall he 
to see you on the occasion you mention, or long 
before, if possible; — a pleasure I may the more 
hope for, as we move to Florence before next 
ivinter. Why couldn't you settle there at the 
same time, — for a while at least, — d let us 
paint-ise, & poet-ize, & music-ize to our heart's 
content, — if alas, our hearts can ever again be 
contented! — But 1 will talk to you about fifty 
things in my next. I expect Liberals every day 
by a vessel, having none here. Of course, I al- 
ivays intended copies of them for you. Think 
of Florence, pray: I shall ring it in your ears 
whenever I write. 

I was not sorry on one account, to find from a 
letter of M*" Freeborn's which M""^ S. received 
yesterday, that in the hurry of some former 
communication she had given him directions to 
have the inscription on the box repeated on the 
tombstone: for I saw that you would of neces- 
sity waive the one I sent you, so that it would at 
least be delayed. — and there was a mistake in 
the Latin of it: — instead of Cor Cordum, it 
shoidd be Cor Cordium. I do not know whether 
you include a knowledge of Latin in the list of 
your accomplishments, — if accomplishment it 
is to be called, which any dull fellow can 
achieve: but having been a reader of Latin my- 
self for many years, & well thumped into it at 
school, I feel enough interest in my scholarly 
reputation to be glad that such a blunder of 
mine has not been exhibited in broad daylight, 
especially in record of one who was as excellent 



30 AROUND THE LIBRARY TABLE 

a scholar as he was excellent in every thing else. 
I must say also that the word Heart occurs, as 
you may guess, numberless times in all sorts of 
writers, hut I do not recollect ever meeting, 
even in the poets (who are my only Latin ac- 
quaintances) with the genitive case plural — of 
Hearts — Cordium — (0 from the nature of the 
nominative I concluded the case might end 
otherwise. After all my search for the word, I 
found it in an index to a dictionary. 

ilf * S. writes by this post to M^ Freeborn to 
say that she prefers having this inscription to 
the one on the box, — which in fact tvas only a 
bare historical record, merely fit to he put under 
ground like that of a coin. The other conveys a 
sentiment, d may reasonably supply the place 
of a better or more complete one (including the 
talents of dear S., as well as his noble heart) 
till a more worthy monument he set up. I hope 
to be in Rome next ivinter to see about the 
latter. — 

God bless you, dear Severn, till my next, — 
and ever, ever, with all the good things worthy 
of your talents & affections. 

Your obliged & sincere friend, 

Leigh Hunt. 

This letter bears the inscription: 
Al Signore 

U Signor Joseph Severn, 
Pittore Inglese, 
No. 18, via di San Isidoro (2*^^ Piano) 
Roma 



AROUND THE LIBRARY TABLE 31 

Here is another letter of which I am very 
fond, as one who himself loves books. I will 
read tonight only a paragraph of it. 

The letter was Avritten to a ^Irs. Hall who 
had sent Hunt a package of books : 

The book you mention I am well acquainted 
with. I tvish all the others may turn out to he 
half as full of matter. The labour you speak of 
will then come to little; for I am a perfect 
'^ glutton of books," novels included, and make 
nothing of washing doivn half a volume at 
breakfast. 

Perfect "glutton of books" is delicious. 
Reading this, can we be criticized for our love 
of Hunt? 

May: I note you have among your Hunt 
books a copy of Howitt's Book of the Seasons. 
Is it a stray sheep ? 

L. A. B. : By no means. It is here for senti- 
mental reasons, an association copy I prize 
highly. It was given Hunt by his patient and 
long suffering wife, as the inscription on the 
blank leaf in her autograph will testify : 

To Leigh Hunt 

from his affectionate 

ivife M. A. Hunt 

This volume is a human interest document 
akin to the one given by her husband to Mrs. 



32 AROUND THE LIBRARY TABLE 

Shelley. Ill in health a great part of her mar- 
ried life, compelled by Hunt's impecuniosity to 
put up with many deprivations, there never was 
a time when she did not worship her lord, believe 
in him, encourage him, speak words of com- 
mendation of his ability. She was indeed his 
affectionate wife, sharing mth him his impris- 
onment, patiently bearing her numerous hard- 
ships and never complaining. 

Adah: You seem to possess several copies of 
Hunt's Poetical Works, 1832. Are you attempt- 
ing to comer all that are in existence ? 

L. A. B. : Not quite. Only those that are un- 
like any other copy. I believe I have five vari- 
eties here. This one has been re-bound, and for 
that reason would not possess the value of this 
other copy in the original binding were it not 
that it is a presentation copy from the author 
''to Aristide Guilbert mth Leigh Hunt's re- 
spects and regards. ' ' GuUbert was an actor of 
some reputation with whom Hunt had formed a 
friendship while he was writing criticisms of 
the stage for some of the newspapers. This 
other copy in a special morocco case has won its 
handsome home because it contains a slip to the 
effect that it was issued before the list of sub- 
scribers was ready for insertion. It is the only 
copy known to me that contains the slip. Col- 



AROUND THE LIBRARY TABLE 33 

lectors of Hunt, I believe, are not aware, as a 
rule, that such a slip is in existence. The list of 
subscribers was never inserted in any of the 
volumes of this edition. The bibliographical 
importance of this point vnW be appreciated by 
collectors who aim at completeness. 

Bob : You have two or more copies of Hunt's 
Beaumont and Fletcher, 1855. Why! 

L. A. B. : Because they too are unlike. Value 
attaches to this copy I hold in my hands for the 
reason that it is a presentation copy, given to 
one "Isaac Latimer, with Leigh Hunt's kind 
regards." It is further enriched by containing, 
laid in loosely, the letter of transmissal in which 
Hunt thanks him ''for the information which 
you were so good as to give me respecting your- 
self and your kindly value for my writings." 
The marvel is that these two items should have 
remained together for more than a half century. 

Robert : Tell us, please, why you treasure his 
Bacchus in Tuscany in this morocco slip case. 

L.A. B. : For the reason that it bears 
throughout the text many corrections in Hunt's 
autograph. These corrections are principally 
in the spelling of Italian names, though there 
are many others in ordinary words, such as 
** crying," which Hunt has corrected by writing 
in the margin "Spring." I have a theory re- 



34 AROUND THE LIBRARY TABLE 

garding the necessity for the corrections. The 
manuscript was sent from Florence to his 
brother John in London, with this dedication: 

My Dear John, 

I cannot send you, as I could wish, a pipe of 
Tuscan wine, or a hamper of Tuscan simshine, 
which is much the same thing; so in default of 
being able to do this, I do what I can, and send 
you, for a new year's present, a translation of 
a Tuscan bacchanal. 

The manuscript was put in type and the proof 
read by others than the author, and it is not to 
be wondered at that they were not able to do a 
good job of it. It is not always easy to decipher 
Hunt's handwriting. Especially difficult must 
it have been in the case of unfamiliar Italian 
names and terms. 

I believe my theory is a plausible one. In no 
other way can I explain the presence of so many 
corrections on the part of an author after his 
work is published. 

Harry : You seem to have a fondness for two 
or more copies of the same publication. Here 
are duplicate copies, as I see it, of Shelley's 
Masque of Anarchy. Inasmuch as Hunt edited 
this publication, and wrote for it a lengthy in- 
troduction, I grant that it has a place in a Hunt 



AROUND THE LIBRARY TABLE 35 

collection, but why aren't you content with one 
copy, especially in such superb bindings as 
clothe these two books? Are you attempting to 
secure all the copies in existence! 

L. A. B. : No. This copy in polished calf, un- 
cut, by Zaehnsdorf , is a desirable first edition of 
Shellej^ with a Hunt interest. But this taller 
and thinner copy, so handsomely bound in 
crushed olive morocco gilt, by De Coverly, in 
dollars and cents is worth ten times the other 
one, and has more of a Hunt interest than a 
Shelley interest. It is the page proofs of the 
Masque, and contains the final corrections by 
Hunt, made just before the volume was printed. 
There is one more page in the book as issued 
than in this proof copy, due to the lengthy note 
Hunt added one page 41, which, when printed, 
crowded one stanza over to the next page. 

This proof copy, by the way, evidences that 
Hunt was a more pains-taking author than he 
is credited mth having been by some of his 
critics. Note the number of alterations he has 
made in his introduction. There are changes in 
every stanza, and one has been completely elim- 
inated. 

I have other evidence of Hunt's careful com- 
position in this mass of his manuscript that 
recently has come into my possession. Please 



36 AROUND THE LIBRARY TABLE 

note this superb red morocco binding by Tout* 
It properly protects the original manuscript of 
his "Book of Beginnings," published in the 
lliird number of The Liberal, a quarterly jour- 
nal founded by himself, Shelley, and Byron, in 
a vain attempt to help Hunt's finances. **It is 
a most interesting example, ' ' says Buxton For- 
man, **of Hunt's way of working, and varies 
much from the poem as published." In every 
stanza there are changes, whole lines being 
erased and new ones written. Hunt seems to 
have given much patient thought to his work 
before printing. 

Annette: You have been gracious in answer- 
ing our questions tonight. Will you not now be 
a volunteer in our entertainment, and tell us of 
other Hunt rarities you may have? 

L. A. B. : That might unduly prolong the sit- 
ting of this round table. However, here are one 
or t"wo things that may be of interest to you. 

This is a first edition of Shelley's Cenci. It 
finds a congenial home with the Hunt family 
because the author dedicated it to Hunt, calling 
him his ''dear" and his ''affectionate" friend. 

An added interest is given this volume in that 
it has laid in loosely a letter from Shelley to the 
publishers, the Messrs. Oilier, in the care of 
Thomas Love Peacock, in which he asks, "have 



AROUND THE LIBRARY TABLE 37 

you received an Mss. seiit from Naples?" This 
manuscript was that of the book itself. 

Then here is a one-sheet broadside that de- 
serves the fine morocco binding given it by 
Riviere. It is a letter soliciting subscriptions 
for the erection in Kensal Green cemetery, 
where Hunt was buried, of a monument to his 
memoiy. Among the signers are Thomas Car- 
lyle, Charles Dickens, W. C. Macready, and 
B. W. Procter. The corrections in the jjroof 
were made by Robert Bro^\^ling, who was the 
chairman of the committee having the matter in 
charge. Bound with the broadside is a state- 
ment of the condition of the fund, all in the 
handwriting of Browning. This document, too, 
has a two-fold interest — one that appeals to a 
Browning lover and one that appeals to a Hunt 
collector. 

Mrs. Smith : Have you any unpublished man- 
uscripts of Hunt 1 

L. A. B.: I believe I have. My acquisitions 
of his manuscripts have been made only recent- 
ly and the leisure to examine and compare has 
not yet been mine. Here is a brief one that 
came from a reliable dealer in London who 
states that *'it is believed it has never been pub- 
lished." As it is apropos to this round table 
discussion, permit me to read it : 



38 AROUND THE LIBRARY TABLE 

PLEASANT THOUGHTS FOR PLEASANT 
PEOPLE 

Good heavens, reader, what a pleasant title is 
this, and how agreeable on both sides! Hoiv 
amiable you must think it on my part, and hoiv 
extremely so I thiyik are you, to be of that opin- 
ion! I cannot but ivarm myself at the fire of 
thy benevolence, to reflect hoiv happy ive shall 
be together. As a reader in general, you have 
an hereditary claim to the titles of Benevolent, 
Candid, and Discerning ; but as the readers of 
these papers in particular, I cannot but think 
you deserve them in your oivn person; and that 
there is nobody so benevolent, so candid, and so 
discerning, except the innumerable multitude 
who shall read me likeivise. 

All this you deserve to have said of you, if a 
male. But if a female! — It seems to me that 
authors can never be grate ftd enough to benevo- 
lent female readers. I knoiv not hoiv others 
manage it; but it is amazing what I feel, when 
I meet ivith a charming female reader, ivho 
turns me over ivith a relish. They are the 
people for acknoivledging one's merits! To 
have it said to one, ''Hotv interesting a book 
you have given us!'' To be told, that ive tvere 
touching at page 45; that the tears came into 
her eyes at chapter the second; or (if a romp) 
that she was so delighted, she could have thrown 
the book at us; or to fancy all this, — for the 
truth is, that such panegyrics are oftener ob- 



AROUND THE LIBRARY TABLE 39 

tained in fancy than in fact; or as the climax of 
all, to think of those beautiful natures, most 
liable to, but luckily also most capable of, con- 
solation tvhom an author may help to guard 
against the ill consequences of disappointment, 
and to confirm in their hopes of human kind — 
restoring something of the morning of their sen- 
sations, or making theyn feel that their own 
hopes and endeavors are a means of securing 
that good to the tvorld in future, ivhich they 
have missed at present, not ivithout that earnest 
of its reivard and that beam of its distant rising 
on their face, — to be able to do anything of this 
to any such natures, tvhether male or female 
(for spirits, inasmuch as they approach the 
angelical, are of no sex; and nobleness mascu- 
line may be as sweet, as feminine sweetness may 
be noble) — these are reflections, the very as- 
piration of which is a reward to itself and does 
a substantial good to others, however small may 
be the powers of the individual in any other re- 
spect. For belief is creation; just as the visible 
creation is but the strongest of our beliefs. "I 
am sure of the existence of the sun,'' says the 
materialist, "for I feel the light of it in my 
eyes:" "And I am sure," cries the [spiritual- 
ist]," of the existence of the sentiment thai 
makes the sun. 

But the gravity into ivhich considerations of 
this kind are apt to run, is here very seasonably 
interrupted by some reader of a cynical turn, 
ivho thinks fit to inform me that he is riot one of 



40 AROUND THE LIBRARY TABLE 

your pleasant people; and that he has a great 
notion that the gentry so-called are not always 
so pleasant as they suppose themselves. 

**Nor the unpleasant, I presume, so very de- 
serving of that title?'" 

Here my interrupter gives me ivhat an Irish- 
man might call a look atvay from me, half sour- 
ness and half smile. The truth is, I am not 
sure I shall leave him out of my list, if he he- 
haves himself; and to that end, I recommend 
him, first to have his dinner, and next, not to 
think worse, or better, of himself, than there is 
any occasion. I dare say he is pleasant enough 
■when he is not angry ivith those whom he thinks 
more pleasant. If he is disagreeable to those 
about him, even ivhen his sensations are at their 
pleasantest, he is not aware perhaps that he has 
as great a craving after their sympathy as if 
he were their flatterer, and takes but as ill 
means of showing it: that is to say, an impres- 
sion upon them somehoiv is necessary to his 
enjoyment, only he stamps an ill one instead of 
a good; the seal of a devil instead of a [god]. 
We can no more leave them out than the great- 
est cultivator of toad-eaters ; no, not even if he 
should turn hermit and misanthrope, for then 
he ivould be alivays thinking of the ivorld, in 
order to persuade himself that he despised it. 
Now such a man ought to knoiv himself, and 
turn pleasant. Perhaps he ivill, if encouraged, 
and provided he is not a fool; for nothing is so 
impracticable as folly. Luckily, by its very 
nature, nothing is more excusable. Let this be 



AROUND THE LIBRARY TABLE 41 

among not the least pleasant, or consolatory, of 
our thoughts, when fools are plaguing us. 

On the other hand, if our cynical, or ivould-he 
cynical friend, who thus interrupts us and is 
unpleasant because he thinks others more so in 
their very pleasantness, — I mean if he is one of 
those ivho are angry with people for wearing 
smiles on their faces, or in their books, when 
there is so much evil in the world, and perhaps 
infirmity in their own natures, he ought to mend 
his philosophy for tivo reasons: first, because it 
is a very impolitic thing to make love to wis- 
dom, or to any other lady, with a sour face; and, 
second, because if he is anxious for the happi- 
ness of manMnd out of a zeal for their wel- 
fare and not from an irritable craving after 
complaint and dissatisfaction, he ought to do 
his best to exhibit ivhat he can of it in his oivn 
person by ivay of example and encouragement. 
But at all events, if such a person he is, leave 
him out of our list tve cannot; for his heart is 
pleasant to us, should his face be otherwise; and 
tve think, when he co^nes to know how sincere a 
company tve are, and that our anxieties for 
human good (and perhaps tnany others of our 
anxieties) are as great as his, though tve reap 
an invincible pleasure from the beauties of 
earth and sky, and by a chance of our constitu- 
tion are as susceptible of joy as sorrow, it tvill 
be hard if there are not moments when he tvill 
relax over the wine of our thoughts, and say, 
"I also am among the pleasant." 

Nor let that title be grudged us, considering 



42 AROUND THE LIBRARY TABLE 

with whom we are ambitious of sharing it, and 
what we have in view with it for all. 

Now, our friends, while the reading lamp con- 
tinues to bless us with its light, the fire in the 
hearth burns low, and soon there will be only 
ashes. So with the year, and so also with our 
gatherings in this pleasant manner. In the 
nature of things, we may not be permitted many 
occasions like this in the years ahead, but what- 
ever may be the uncertainties of the future, it is 
pleasant to know that the past cannot be taken 
away. These gatherings around the lamp and 
by the fire, these messages of friends to friends 
at this ever hallowed time, are ours. May the 
memories of them ever be kindly, for, para- 
phrasing : 

We ivill not pass this ivay again, 

But far beyond earth's where and when 

May we look back upon a road 

Where on both sides good seed we sowed. 

We will not pass this way again. 
May wisdom guide our tongue and pen. 
A love be ours that so we may 
Plant roses all along the way. 

We will not pass this ivay again. 
May we be courteous to men, 
Faithful to friends, true to our God, 
A fragrance on the paths we trod. 



FACSIMILES OF 
HUNT LETTERS 



"W 






"i 



'>y/-U if 



< ^^ ^ y^',^ f^ ^/'^ 3;r>.^ ^-.^\ 
■l^^fx.. .A u^,^ ^l^ ^^^ ^,^ ^^^ ^_^,._ ^^^_ ^ ^^ ^^ I 

u ., / , /^ ■ ^ 

;' c A. ^^ -^ i,;r ^-^.."^ ?, ,^^. x^ ,4.,^ ,^ ^^^ ■^- \ 



u/fc. 



, <r --<-,>/! 






Jllf^t^ C^aXi^ 7;.Ug^ ''6-i;i,3. %rj,; /^., , , ■ 

^», L^ h^ 1^ ^ 4^ / . ' ; , 



OC 



v./.,./4 





J^^^ Jy. 4- //fZ. ^/. /^ ^ /j'2-2. 




:■/-' 






'' ' J yi(Jc /t^) d **.,f^ -^ifu^i^, 4^^ '^^ ^'. "^'^ \ 



jiifcW^" l^k^. ^^ CvLliU-in-. Je^l^ '^^ '^-Vliry/Siiut ^^, .. Art-- - *<-^ 



'I 



fr^: J ^it4 



7 



^ 



^^it^ ^/V^ 



'^■(V 



A ^rr it, 

. / 




S/^., ii^ /to^j^ u-^^ ^ ^^-^ -^/^ -^^ ^'^'^^ ^' y "<t. 



.^ / 






\ 




/^ ir^ hk, /^/^ 'C^ea^ -J^ '*-«- •'W^-' - ''^ -' " -• 





OF THIS BOOK TWO HUNDRED AND TWEN- 
TY-FIVE COPIES WERE PRINTED IN DECEM- 
BER NINETEEN HUNDRED AND TWENTY 
BY THE TORCH PRESS CEDAR RAPIDS IOWA 



n^ 



^z 19^ 



wip 



^4^^'#FS&^ 









im ^^ ^^: 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



014 490 778 4 



